


The Bound Heart

by AnotherCloudyDay



Category: Rune Factory 4
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, merperson arthur
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:46:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21659266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnotherCloudyDay/pseuds/AnotherCloudyDay
Summary: I don't trust youbut, I    w an n t     toplease don't let me  f a l l(Musing from rpmusings-galore on Tumblr )----------Vishnal is just an introverted college student who goes to the aquarium to relax from all of his schoolwork. He loved to watch the fish calmly swim around in their tanks and he would often take pictures of them to develop and hang on his wall. He was considered as your average nervous and clumsy college student but lately, he was unable to do his work properly. Occasionally, he would see a strange-looking fish in a large tank. Another thing was that the strange fish seemed to be the only one in that specific tank but he wasn't too sure.  He tried getting a good look at it but it kept moving.  Would he ever figure out what this thing is?----------The characters of Rune Factory 4 belongs to XSEED™The plot belongs to me!This is just a random scenario that I made up.
Relationships: Arthur/Vishnal (Rune Factory)





	1. What is That?

It is the early morning of a Monday, specifically 6:00 AM, and most college students were already heading to the Providence College to get to their classes early. The sun was said to rise at about 7 am and the students were glad that they managed to get there before the bell rang. Vishnal, a senior at Providence College, was always there before everyone else. He didn't mind getting up earlier than the others and he didn't really care if people called him crazy. He liked to stand out, that's all. There's nothing wrong with standing out, right? 

Vishnal is an 18-year-old college student who works extra hard on his school work and he'll never sleep until it's all finished. He is majoring in general literature because he wants to write his own books someday. Strangely, he has a dorm but doesn't have a dormmate. It never bothered him. Besides that, he was an outstanding student and the professors loved him dearly. During his free time in class, Vishnal was seen reading books or writing in a notebook. This made his professors wonder if he even gets enough sleep at night since he works so hard. You see, Vishnal comes from Aswan, Egypt. He mostly spoke Egyptian until he moved to London, England when he was 15, where it took him nearly a year to learn, read, speak and write English. He was pretty clumsy but he knew what he was doing.  
Vishnal walked down the hall of the college with his books in his arms and his earbuds in. He was usually alone on hours like this and he didn't really mind. His life was barely interesting but he knew it would be somehow. He walked to his class and took his earbuds out, letting out a small breath. All of his classes were centered around literature any way so he shouldn't worry so much. But he was like a walking ball of anxiety. As soon as class started, he got out his materials and began working like the professor said, not paying attention to the world around him. There was nothing about his work that bothered him and he was content with what he was doing.  
I guess you could say that his classmates approved of him. Sure, he was clumsy and couldn't cook correctly, but they knew he was working. He was a kind soul but also very anxious. He was good at working on his work but he worried he wouldn’t do anything right, yet he was doing good on everything.

Later that day after getting out of class, Vishnal walked to his usual hangout spot - Ecosteady Aquarium. He wanted to find something unusual to include in his report in order to get his college degree. He was lucky to have the aquarium down the road from the college. He, also, enjoyed seeing all the fish; it soothed him.  
Walking around with a notebook and pen in his hands, the blue-haired male hummed quietly to himself as he looked at the different kinds of fish. He then spotted people crowding around what seemed to be a new tank. Being curious, he walked over and pushed his way through the crowd, almost dropping his stuff after managing to spot what everyone was looking for. He had managed to catch a glimpse of a large fin. Confused, he turned to one of the people beside him. 

“What is it supposed to be?” He asked.  
“I heard it’s a merperson. I thought they didn’t exist!”

Vishnal, clearly excited, began to write down what he was seeing. The other people, clearly bored, groaned and walked away. After everyone left the tank alone, Vishnal was the only one left. Looking up from his papers, he jumped back when he saw a face. The face was one of a male with amber-brown eyes and short light blonde hair. ‘He’ had copper-colored fins for ears, copper-colored scales on his face, torso, and arms, and a long, copper-colored scaly tail. The male also had gills on both sides of his neck.  
Being the easily frightened one Vishnal was, he was shaking. His hands were shaking as he quickly sketched out a quick picture of the strange merperson. By the time he was finished and he looked up, the merperson was gone. Letting out a sigh and calming his shaking hands, Vishnal ran a hand through his hair. “They’re going to think I’m crazy,” he mumbled to himself as he soon gathered up his stuff and left after reading the about plate for the merperson in the gigantic tank. It read:

Arthur D. Lawrence  
This is a merperson found in the English Channel that separates the Ocean from continental Europe. He is said to be a prince but we are unsure of his actual whereabouts. This merman has a lot of issues with letting humans see him. He is identified as an open ocean merperson, due to the shades of green, blue, and teal.

Understanding and scribbling some notes down, Vishnal soon nodded to himself and left, not knowing that ‘Arthur’ had peaked out of the top of the tank to watch the blue-haired college student leave before diving back into the water. Vishnal knew he had stuff to do before the end of the second semester and he needed picture proof before he could even turn in his report. He also had to tell Clorica, his most dependable friend and classmate, what he saw. She would surely believe him, right?  
At home, Vishnal had been working on his report and researching merpeople. This had struck his attention way too much. Hours and hours were put into the research and his wrist was starting to ache, so he decided to take a break. Leaning back in his swivel chair, Vishnal let out a sigh and stretched, some of his joints letting out a pop. He was too stressed for this. He needed to get a picture of the merman in order to get people to believe him.

Enjoying the story? Stay tuned for chapter 2, coming in 2020!


	2. Willing to Allow Pictures?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a confused state, Vishnal decides to go back to the aquarium to try and get a picture of the strange humanoid creature. Luckily, he had afternoon classes. Will he be able to get a picture? Find out in this chapter as we follow Vishnal and his curiosity throughout part of the chapter!

Vishnal couldn’t stop thinking about what he had seen at the aquarium. He was shocked, yet interested. Could it be real? Of course, it was! He felt like he had lost his mind. He wasn’t sure if his classmates would trust him without any proof. So, he decided to try and get a picture of the merman. Was that the correct term? It probably was. He wasn’t too sure but he would look it up later. 

Traveling to the aquarium on foot, Vishnal hummed along to his current favorite song, Let’s Shut Up and Dance by NCT 127, Lay, and Jason Derulo. He had a way of walking that made him seem perpetually in a hurry. His steps weren't long but they were rapid. Like a speed-walker without that odd twisting motion they make. He had his phone in his back pocket and his camera around his neck. He was destined to get the picture. He needed to prove that he wasn’t lying. You could say that he was committed. It’s good to be dedicated to doing something, right? 

Arriving at the aquarium, he entered and took his earbuds out as he paused the music. He greeted the employees with a nod and a smile as he walked straight over to the tank with the merman in it. Looking around, he didn’t see any breathing tubes so he was convinced this was real. Pulling out his camera, he took pictures of the tank. 

Vishnal was too busy looking at the pictures that he didn’t notice the merman staring at him. Soon feeling eyes on him, Vishnal looked up and jumped back. He regained his composer and tilted his head. Arthur wasn’t too affected. The merman swam over to an open part of the tank and stuck his head out. Curiously, Vishnal walked over and let out a hum.

“Can you speak?” He asked.

“Of course I can. Who can’t?” Arthur replied, shocking the blue-haired male.

“A-Are you...really a merperson..?”

“Yes!” 

Arthur sighed and made his fins, that were over his ears, wiggled. This made Vishnal gasp. The employees of the aquarium gasped and began snapping pictures of the two while another employee called the news station. Vishnal was confused by the sudden gasps but shrugged and turned back to the merman in front of him.   
“S-So um...Mister Lawrence...I’m doing a project in college and I...want to know if you’re comfortable with your picture taken..?” Vishnal managed to speak out, tugging at his own sleeves. The question caused Arthur to rub his temples and sigh. Arthur shrugged before giving a nod, causing the blue-haired college student to smile and motion Arthur to swim back out into the tank. Arthur did just that and Vishnal walked back to the front of the tank with a hum as he happily snapped a couple pictures. He then looked through the photos and gave Arthur a thumbs up, mouthing a thank you before making his way out of the aquarium and back to his house. 

Vishnal was surprised that Arthur talked to him. Was it because he was the only one around the tank? he wondered but then shrugged to himself as he got in the door of his dorm and took off his jacket. He was glad that he was able to get, at least, a couple of pictures. Now, all he had to do was finish the report before going to his afternoon classes. He was surprised at how willing Arthur was. Did Arthur get his picture taken often? That question was always on his mind from that moment on.

Days passed since the occurrence and Vishnal couldn’t shake off what happened that day. He was surprised that Arthur even talked to him. It said that he had problems with letting people see him but….why let Vishnal see him? It’s not like Vishnal is special or anything...When would Arthur let others see him? What if Arthur was being held imprisoned? Vishnal wasn’t too sure. He wanted to know more about Arthur than the information that was given by the aquarium staff.

Vishnal sighed to himself as he started to develop the pictures he had taken the day he talked to Arthur. He ran a hand through his hair as he then let his chin rest on his hand, occasionally checking on the pictures. As soon as they were done, he picked them up and put them in one of his school books. 

Flopping down on the couch, he sighed and rubbed his face. Spacing out, he soon snapped back to reality when his phone rang. Picking up his phone and answering the call, he let out a, “hello?”

“Hey, Vishnal!” Chirped a voice on the other side of the phone. It was Frey, one of his classmates.

“Oh. Hey, Frey. What’s up?” He asked her.

“I was calling to tell you that I saw you on the news and in the paper today!”

“O-Oh…”

Quickly turning on the television, Vishnal turned to the news and he almost dropped his phone.

“The merman we have here at Ecosteady Aquarium has finally allowed this college student to talk to him and take pictures of him. What a new sight! This merman has never done this to any human before due to trust issues it seemed. What do you think has the merman drawn to the student?” The news reporter spoke with the usual fake but cheery smile as Vishnal was seen in the background, talking to Arthur. This caused Vishnal to rub his face with his free hand.

“Oh my God, Frey. They called the news reporters? Oh my God.” Vishnal sighed out, earning a confused noise from the other end of the phone.

“Vin, it’s not that big of a deal. Calm down a little bit, okay? I think you looked pretty cute in that shot!” 

“No, Frey. You don’t understand!” Vishnal began to panic a little bit. “They - they have him held captive!”

“W-What?” Frey questioned. She was concerned for her friend’s mental health. “Vin, I think you’re taking this too seriously.”

“Frey, I’ll call you back later.” Vishnal sighed and hung up before Frey could say anything.

Vishnal got up and stretched before looking around the room. He wondered what he could do to help the poor merman. He then went to his laptop and opened it, logging in and immediately doing research. He pulled over a chair and sat down, not looking away from the screen. He really wanted to help Arthur as much as he could, even if it meant getting caught and maybe getting kicked out of college. He could always get into another college, right?

The time Vishnal was done with researching, it was 9’o clock at night. He was surprised that he spent that much time on his computer. Normally, he’d be studying but not now. He was too focused on trying to get Arthur out that he didn’t pay attention to the time. Letting out a sigh, Vishnal closed the laptop and rubbed his eyes. He wasn’t so sure that he would go through with this or not but he was going to try.


End file.
